The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015, are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 23, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

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If you like to read, chances are you love a good book. If you're reading this article, chances are you'd like to find a good science-fiction story. That's where I come in. Here are a few tips aimed at readers who are new to science fiction to help them navigate the sometimes confusing selection of science-fiction books presented to them. With the following tips, you will be better equipped to find the right book for you.

Since this book is written as a script, the cover is extremely fitting. But the most appropriate aspect isn't the faux pages or binding—it's all of the GLITTER! SO MUCH GLITTER! I feel like you could ...

Buzz and gushing testimonials can be both commercially created and untrustworthy, but Laura Ruby’s Bone Gap deserves every single dollop of praise it has received.

Seriously, I swoon.

Finn O’Sullivan is known for being a dreamer. Other residents of Bone Gap call him “Moonface,” “Spaceman,” “Sidetrack”—some affectionately, some not so affectionately. When Roza—the town darling, beloved by everyone, but most especially by Finn’s older brother, Sean—disappears, Finn is the only witness. He swears up, down, and sideways that ...

Here’s what I learned after Mom disappeared: that your body keeps breathing even when your brain shuts down. That you can talk about trivialities while the world burns down around you.

The son of two scientists, Harrison Harrison—Harrison x Harrison = H2, for short—has been touched by tragedy at a young age. As a toddler, he remembers watching his father being consumed by something in the sea, disappeared and never to return again. The same horror that stole his father also ...

There are countless children’s books about toddlers and what they love. You could also fill a small planet with board books and picture books about the emotions of toddlers, but rarely have I seen the slippery phenomenon that is a toddler’s mood captured as well as it is in Sibylle Delacroix’s Prickly Jenny, originally published in France in 2013 but now on shelves here in the States. It’s a book that had me at its first page: “Jenny doesn’t say ...

According to Wikipedia, March 19 was both the day that the99th Pursuit Squadron—also known as The Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black unit of the U.S. Army Aircorps—was activated (1941), and the day that Texas Western—now known as UTEP, the University of Texas campus in my hometown of El Paso—became the first college basketball team to win the NCAA championship with an all-black starting lineup (1966). (The story was portrayed in the 2006 movie Glory Road.)

At a recent convention in Chicago—Capricon 35—I met an artist named John Bivens. Bivens turned out to be an interesting and talented guy. His art was on display in the art show, along with pages from various comics and copies of a graphic novel he’d drawn. The cover displayed a character with a bone helmet resting a massive sword across her shoulders. I snagged a copy. Who wouldn’t?

I’m taking a brief break from picture books today to yawp about a new children’s novel I fell into and enjoyed immensely. The War That Saved My Life was written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, an author not at all new to historical fiction. Her most recent book for children, Jefferson’s Sons—a fictionalized account of the latter part of Thomas Jefferson's life at Monticello told through the point of view of three of his slaves—was met with starred reviews ...

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